Movement in the mountains so far this summer has been rarely static. A whole bunch of long classic hill races in Scotland and the Lakes has necessitated some fitness for running up inclines, so climbing has had to take a back seat.

After a shuffle of things and completion of most of the major races I ended up having a free Sunday afternoon so went in search of some mountain craggin with Findlay last weekend.

With limited time and recent rain the highest crags were out, so we opted for a more modern climb that is rapidly achieving classic status not least for its recent appearance in the new Scottish Rock select guide. Millennium slab is perched at a modest height on the north side of Garbh Bheinn, west of Corran. The most popular climb is Indian Slab, VS 4b, with there also being a few other lines at a similar grade. 

The crag itself is a large sheet of easy angled Gneiss in the upper reaches of Glen Gour. Approached via a 4x4 track and then only a short section of untracked ground, by all accounts it should be a fairly straightforward walk-in. The track up Glen Gour was actually pretty rough going, and although the guidebooks all suggest taking bikes in anything other than a prolonged heatwave you’d be best cycling in a wetsuit with the amount of water on the path, some sections of puddles of which were over 100 m long! 

Looking down the long and excellently positioned 3rd pitch of Indian Slab 

After arriving at the crag drenched in sweat it was obvious that we’d accidentally walked into the Lions den dressed as a couple of prime steaks. Within minutes we were the focus of a few thousands wee beasties which forced rapid gearing up. With all the hill running and walking I’d rarely been still long enough for midges to be a problem, however we were now very much not moving and they were flocking to us like we were a free bar. Lucky for me my handy midge net kept my sanity a little. Findlay learnt a valuable lesson in that moment that’s for sure and I felt very bad, but not enough to offer him a go! 

The climb itself was good. Whilst given a grade of VS 4b, there is probably no moves harder than 4a+ and the gear is okay, if a little fiddly. The holds are small and sometimes rounded but the friction is exceptional. The big 3rd pitch slab is great and used up the full 60 m of rope.

The descent was classic Scotland big mountain crag stuff, being a combination of traversing on collapsing ledges followed by a steep grass slope which was rutted to waist depth. At least we were moving fast enough to out run the midges though! 

You can’t beat a good ferry crossing, even if it is small by Scottish standards

All in all the route was a good outing, but being such a soft-touch a full rack felt a bit overkill. The easy angle and regular breaks / grass ledges probably makes it a great candidate for a solo mission. Going on and up through the rocks above the crag looked interesting and would make a fine day if combined with Great Ridge.

Next day we did Direct Route on BeM. The 4a crux on that was significantly harder than anything on Indian Slab… 

Findlay just before the smooth crux on Direct Route

Last week I was in the Cairngorms with the boys from Devon for some winter climbing action. Whilst the wild weather meant conditions were certainly wintery, the three named storms we had to negotiate did make things quite testing at times... 

The weather the first day was calm in the morning but breaking by mid-afternoon heralding the arrival of the first of the named storms. To try and make the most of the weather window we headed straight for the northern corries, with Dan and Rich heading for Hidden Chimney on Mess of Pottage and myself and Jed going for Original Summer Route on Aladdin's Buttress. 

A deluge of snow earlier in the week followed by some slightly warmer weather meant that whilst everything was very white, there was also a healthy covering of useless cruddy ice. Little did we know this would be the theme of the trip with this stuff covering every crag we went too! The first pitch of Original Summer Route was no different, with chocked up cracks making gear quite hard won and progress reliant almost entirely on snowed up hooks or turf which had to be dug out. As we climbed higher the snow did get gradually more consolidated, but coincident to a worsening of the weather. We continued all the way to the pinnacle before reversing Alladin’s Gully and then heading back down the corrie. By the time we got back to the car, the view had gone and the wind had picked up. A sign of things to come. 

Jed following the tricky third pitch of Original Summer Route (IV,5)

More steep groves on Original Summer Route

Victory stance looking back up at the route

The next day was a walk day and whilst there was no named storm, winds were still forecast to be gale force, with snow showers throughout the day. With that in mind we opted for a smash and grab Munro bag on Mullach Clach a’Bhlair, the broad and rounder of the two Munros guarding the western flank of the Moine Mor near Glen Feshie. After 5 or 6 km of walking up the Glen we headed up a steep access track, gaining elevation quickly, with snow depth growing rapidly from dusting to shin to knee deep drifts in no time at all. Even with the coming and going of visibility as squalls rushed through, following the big landrover track was easy navigation, even though the walking wasn’t. As soon as we reached flatter ground by the summit plateau however we stepped in another world of compact and squeaky knee deep sastrugi and blowing snow. Following a bearing towards the intermittently visible summit cairn pimpling the skyline was surprisingly tough going, particularly with the rush of powder snow blasting underneath us in the cross wind. Eventually we made it to the summit, but the jubilation was somewhat bittersweet. As we set up the bearing for the descent, the wind started picking up and the sky grew black. In no time at all we were in the grasp of a serious blizzard, with visibility down to a few feet at the most. Whilst a little scary, having to do such complex navigation was great fun. This was definitely the case for me and Jed, but less so for Rich having forgot his goggles. He won’t be forgetting them again that’s for sure.

A brief respite from wild weather on the walk out from Mullach Clach a'Bhlair 

The next day Storm Eustace was to make landfall in southern Britain, bringing hurricane force winds to the south coast. For Scotland, whilst winds were high, it was more or less business as usual. We walked into the northern corries once again but this time with a fierce cross wind and light snow falling. By the time we’d started up our route - Fluted Buttress Direct, the snow was heavy and now pouring down the cliff. Strong westerly winds in recent days meant westerly aspects were accumulating vast quantities of snow, so FBD with its north facing aspect shouldn’t have been to bad. As we got higher it became clear that this aspect was also collecting a lot of snow and before long I was tethering up the lower crux grove on rounded, iceless holds being pummelled by endless powder snow. A quick retreat from some convenient tat saw us go on a counter and easier adjacent line, Wavelength. But after a pitch of that we were all freezing and becoming increasingly nervous about the shear volume of snow accumulating everywhere. With conditions worsening we opted for a swift exit up Spiral Gully, not wanting to risk an abseil down onto now loaded slopes below the crag. Eventually we made it up and out onto the plateau, but as they say, out of the frying pan and into the fire! Winds were now close to storm force and visibility down to a hundred meters or so and dropping rapidly. Thankfully we made it off without a hitch and got back to a very snowed up and buried car. 

Somewhat wild conditions on the day of Storm Eustace 

Fluted Buttress Direct, just before we bailed!

The car easily demonstrating how much snow had fallen in the time we were climbing! 

The next and final day couldn’t have been more contrasting, being dominated by a rare ridge of high pressure hiding in the wake of Eustace. Not wanting anything to do with north or eastern aspects we took a longer walk up and over to Stag Rocks, a vast and sprawling crag on the south side of Loch ‘An. The only issue with this crag was the combination of southern aspect and surprisingly sunny weather. Whilst temperatures were well below zero, the sun bathed base of the cliff was a sun trap warming rapidly so haste really was the main prerogative. Our route was a shy IV,5 called Albino, which climbs a cracked slab and then takes a wild line round an overhang before following groves and corners more easily to the top. The shear volume of snow and ice in recent days meant the slab was totally buried, and whilst quite delicate, was actually an exciting lead and not as thin as I thought it was going to be. The exit grooves would have been equally enjoyable, however the rope drag was unbearable, so made this quite a testing finish. By the time Jed and Dan had come up things were definitely warming up with running water and ice falling all over the place. Luckily the next few pitches were much simpler and everything was that bit higher, so a touch more stable. All in all, it was a beautiful day and well worth the effort of seeking out something that safer, even if it was a bit drippy. 

The cracked slab pitch of Albino (IV,5)

Jed soaking up some exposure on the steep and exposed exit groves on Albino

Given the weather over those few days I was extremely happy that we managed to get so much done. The rest of the UK had been battered by a series of awful storms and somehow us being that bit much further north for once meant we escaped the worst of it. Now you can’t often say that about climbing in Scotland can you! 

End of a great day on Stag Rocks, and a great trup in the Cairngorms

Church Door Buttress up on Bidean in Glencoe. Flake Route (IV,6) climbs pretty much straight up the middle through a series of chimneys and grooves

Church Door Buttress up on Bidean is fast becoming one of my favourite winter mountain crags. Being nearly 200 m high and with a base at over 850 m above sea level, its definitely one of Glencoes highest that’s for sure. Its shattered and vegetated corners, grooves and chimneys make for brilliant (if a little arduous) climbing and when you get a view, the vista out towards Loch Linnie is stunning. Whilst it’s elevation makes it a reliable venue, the approach isn’t the easiest and is certainly a bit of a lung buster. To be honest, that’s no bad thing really as it seems to do a good job at keeping the crowds at bay. Not even once have I had to share a belay at Church Door, or even a gearing up spot at the base! Yesterday was no different, which was a real surprise given the forecast of cold and clear weather as a result of rare and short lived ridge of high pressure. 

The snow line was ~600 m elevation and was mainly fresh powder. The storms of the days past were evident everywhere with watercourses all eventually succumbing to the cold being frozen solid by about 750 m. Where the wind had been pummelling the Coire waterfalls has clearly been blown upwards creating vast sheets of water ice on both riverbanks. 

The crag itself was absolutely plastered with rime ice and gully’s choked with a combination of new and old snow. There was also a lot of ice, but not enough to be a problem.

Our route choice was to be the left had start to Flake Route (IV,6), which is a line I’ve looked at before with Seb when we were up last season doing one of the gullys. The first pitch climbs a spectacular looking rift and is in a similar pedigree to Crypt Route (V,6), it’s neighbouring route which I did with Sol a few years back.

The sensational knee battering pitch on Flake Route (Picture courtesy of K. Applegate) 

Flake Route did not disappoint. It was an absolute gut busting thrutch with several occasions where full body wedging and udging was the only means of progression. Gear was hard won but generally good - although not all that necessary  given how much contact you were in with both walls of the chimney most of the time… The upper pitches were equally enjoyable and we finished up the notorious Raeburns Chimney which was a bit thin on snow on the lower slab which added to the excitement considerably! Having led it twice before I was more than happy to let Ben get on the sharp end for this one. I was expecting a spectacle of grovelling (which is how I remember it!) but Ben made short work of it climbing it fantastically. The last pitch was more thinly iced that I’d seen before, which made it more interesting than usual but also a bit more committing. Overall though a great route on a great crag. 

Ben putting in a final udge on the chimney pitch of Flake Route

Ben making short work of the notorious Raeburn's Chimney pitch where Flake Route joins West Chimney (V,7) and Crypt Route (V,6)

One thing to mentioned is that the day was almost marred by Ben dropping his belay jacket from his harness on the scramble up the gully. Somewhat astonishingly the jacket in its dry bag landed at the base of the gully balanced on a snow ledge for the whole day before we collected it on the walk out. Another inch and it would have continued to fall down the crag apron, probably never to be seen again. Luck was clearly with us yesterday. 

Where I found Ben's belay jacket. How it stayed here for 5 hours without being buried / blowing do the crag apron I'll never know! 

Another fabulous day in Glencoe

My orange jacket standing out like a sore thumb on Andromeda (photo credit James Rigby - thanks James!)

This winter has been rather other worldly. Unseasonably warm and dry conditions have been the norm, which has made getting the usual run of winter ticks somewhat more challenging.

Thankfully this weekend just gone a bit of luck with the forecast fortuitously timed with climbing plans conjured in Autumn of last year.

After an overnight dusting and dominance of a freezing northly gale James and I found the Lochain looking "lean" but with potential at least. It was James first ever winter foray so going easy probably should have been the order of the day, but a pedigree of climbing hard trad and ultra running meant I wasn't too worried about taking him to the deep end - certainly as far as northern cories climbing is concerned. 

The route we opted for was Andromeda (IV), a grove and corner line that breaks off from Milky Way and heads directly up through steep ground to join Central Crack Route. 

The start was awkward. The usual snow clad ledges and groves were replaced with icy rock, a dust of useless snow and turf frozen so solid even a sharp axe barely made a dent. The highlight was a horizontal crack a full reach past a small overlap made for a textbook torque and was protected by a rusty peg complete with frozen tat. What more could you ask for from a first pitch.

After some more textbook encounters - this time of the faffing and hot aches variety - we were ready to tackle the main corner line of Andromeda. The line is actually a series of three corners, with the one of the left being the true line, an option just right being supposedly slightly harder and then another corner way to the right, which looked a grade easier than the other two options. As we stood there being buffeted by the wind and snow, there was certainly a strong urge to take the easiest of the options - que climber on Milky Way who announces that the left corner is worth the effort and the true line. That settled it. Off we went up the left corner. 

It had torques, it had burl, and most importantly it had copious opportunities for full body wedging. Were I to do it again, I'd probably leave the bag at the base as it definitely made some of the chimneying sections harder than they needed to be. 

The last pitch was an easy romp up past the cornice. Unfortunately the weather the next few days wasn't up to climbing, but it was still great to have a catch up with James.   

Ben on the second pitch of White Shark

I had an early alarm this morning; which considering my circadian rhythm usually has me stirring from 6 am can only mean one thing. Winter climbing day! 

It’s taken the sacrifice of a days precious leave, but finally the stars aligned with opportunity and required conditions colliding for the first time this season. “Requires conditions” is perhaps an exaggeration though as actually the current situation in the mountains is pretty bad, with unseasonably mild January weather stripping snow and ice from all but the highest places. With this in mind, we opted to go to Annoch Mors east face which is a reliable venue given the elevation of the crag base at a little over 1000 m. 

The day didn’t start overly well either. We missed the early gondola by 5 minutes (which forced a 45 min wait outside the shut cafe) and after eventually reaching the crag, was followed by starting up a route which had a bit too much wet turf and drippy ice to be justifiable. After a bit of head scratching we headed to a higher section of the crag and opted for a lean looking White Shark. The route was really great, if a little stiff for IV,4 but still provided good climbing on mostly solid ice. The difficulty was certainly put into perspective by watching a local guy solo the route before we started up though.. 

The forecast looks like it goes warm again from tomorrow and staying that way. It’ll be a few weeks before I can get out again anyway so hopefully things pick up soon or this really will be a dreadful winter. Given the warmer weather, If you do head to this crag watch out as the cornices were absolutely huge, and not a thing to be underneath when they start thawing… 

A revelation from todays drive to the crag… what a game changer 

Shifting Focus

Sailing with feet above the clouds on a morning run up Ben Ledi

There have been a few cold snaps recently but commitments in work and life have prevented me getting out and making the most of early season winter conditions. Although its brilliant to see that other people have been getting out, I've definitely been suffering with FOMO so have been pushing my training as a distraction! 

Over the past few years winter time training was mainly done on a turbo and bike in the garage, which was partially a function of convenience but it also being a new and exciting thing that I’d not done before. This was supplemented by a few runs and then also the deep base that a winter climbing day in the hills doubtlessly represents. Training on a turbo can be surprisingly addictive as the performance gains and consequential fitness can be generated quite clinically and over a reasonably short time period. The thing is that after 2 years the novelty of turbo training has well and truly worn off and it’s becoming increasingly harder to muster enough motivation to spin away in a freezing garage for hours on end with Netflix trash TV only providing a faint distraction. 

Towards the end of last year one of my friends suggested that we enter the Pentland Skyline fell race held in the hills south of Edinburgh. The race itself is ~17 miles and takes in many of the major Pentland Hills, with the route climbing a vomit inducing 2000 m along its course. After agreeing and realising that my fitness was probably woefully inadequate, I dusted off the fell shoes and started doing at least one several hour muscle endurance run in the hills each week. I also joined the local running club, Ochil Hill Runners, and went on some of the social  evening runs after work on a Tuesday which was great fun. Within a few weeks my love of the hills and running in them was totally rekindled and it’s for that reason I’ve decided to shift my training focus for 2021 towards hill races. 

As well as the Pentland Skyline, last year I heaved myself around the Wansfell Fell Race, the Stybarrow Fell Race and also the Birnam Hill Race, the latter of which was also my best result so far coming 4th overall. This weekend just gone I ran in the Stile End - Outerside and Barrow Hill Race, which narrowly avoided seriously snowy and icy conditions thanks to a well timed thaw the evening before. It would have been a different race if it had stayed sub zero! The next race is planned for Clough Head, which features a lengthly section of very very steep grass and tussocks up just below the main summit, which on the way up will be lung busting, and on the way down, hopefully not bone busting! 

Triathlon is still very much a firm fixture next year with two races, one in the summer and the other early autumn, both in the Lakes. Aside from those the plan is to also have a try at some of the longer hill races… 

In the meantime hopefully all this running will be useful training for some winter climbing, whenever I eventually manage to make it out into the hills.

Classic sunshine and showers on an alternate OMM weekend with Dad after it got cancelled

David and I getting our feet wet on the stepping stone crossing on Loch Voil 

Looking back along towards Ben Lawers on a another training run / snow swim

The author blowing hard on the SOB fell race. Not icy, but definitely wintery! 

The Long Climb

I recently fulfilled a long held promise with my good friend Mike to go and tick one of his few remaining "Classic Rock" routes on the north face of Ben Nevis. The Long Climb is (unsurprisingly) one of the longest rock climbs in the UK, scaling one of the biggest and highest mountain faces to boot. 

Its altitude and location on the highest mountain in the UK means that weather and conditions can be extremely hard to predict and as such, has gained a reputation for being a very serious undertaking. Many aspirant ascensionists have got hopelessly lost on its sprawling face with some even coming to grief. The necessity for good conditions combined with the difficulties of findings willing partners to go and do such routes in the first place mean that opportunities are rare, which only compounds the air of uncertainty and mystery that such routes hold.   

After agreeing this as an objective and setting a date, our attempt followed several days of warm and dry weather and so it was with great excitement that we set off early from the Torlundy car park under clear and calm skies. 

A perfect sunny summers day on Ben Nevis. The north face and line of the Long Climb just visible in the distance 

The first challenge was actually getting to the route from the scree slope below, with our way blocked by a very large patch of neve that extended for several hundred meters down slope from the start of the route. Whilst there is no risk of avalanche, the consolidated but decaying nature of this lump of snow means a slip and long slide in the event of a poorly placed foot or collapse of a snow step would be disastrous. After making a quick belay I set out across the neve and before long had run the ropes full length and secured myself at the base of a broad rib, roughly 60 m below the so called "first slab rib". 

One of the main challenges of this route is picking out the line as its snakes its way up the vast face, with countless possibilities, many ultimately ending in desperate or even insurmountable barriers. Notwithstanding, the face itself has a few defining features and it is these that the Long Climb seeks out. The three main features are the two "slab ribs" (first and second), which are separated by an easing of the rock angle in an area known as "the basin". 

After two surprisingly bold and delicate pitches, we gained the first slab rib, with the climbing on the rib comprising of a series of airy moves from a corner belay around a prow followed by some great finger jamming up two parallel crack lines. This really was a brilliant pitch, which Mike did a great job of leading. After a few easy pitches through the basin we eventually made it up and underneath the second slab rib (which is hard to spot from the face itself, however a large chimney to the right we noticed from below the crag is obvious, and was a helpful feature). The second rib is perhaps slightly harder than the first rib, but not by much and is superbly protected by wire and small cam placements (all of which needed digging out!). Whilst the digging did slow me down a little, i really enjoyed this pitch and reveled in the exposure of being somewhere some vast and intimidating. After that a long leftward rising traverse following corners and cracks led to an easing of the angle, and eventually the top. 

Mike on the first pitch. The slab ribs are visible above

Mike in a brilliant position on the first slab rib

We both agreed that whilst the ascent for us went very smoothly, we still had a few moments where uncertainty and doubt crept in and under anything other than perfect weather, the Long Climb would be a very different prospect to what we encountered. The abundance of vegetation, dirt and need to dig out all gear placements meant the route had a very adventurous feel, which when its considered the route "classic" status is perhaps a surprise. However the seriousness of the face, the general reputation and location on an extremely high and infrequently visited crag probably means accents are few and far between. Notwithstanding, its a fantastic route, with interest on every pitch. Its not the best climbing you'll ever do, but its certainly one of the best adventures the UK has to offer and has the added allure of being on one of the biggest cliffs and finishing on the highest point.     

Mike leading the pitch after the second pale rib

The view from the top

A line across the Skye

The Cuillin ridge (generally referred to as "the ridge") is considered by many as one of the finest mountaineering challenges the UK has to offer. Taking in 11 Munro's across ~12 km, its not the longest outing by Scottish ridge day standards, but statistics can, and in this case are, deceiving. Once combined with a long approach, lack of water and most crucially, an absolute abundance of technical and exposed scrambling and climbing, the reality is the ridge is the ultimate test for any self proclaimed "mountaineers". Being both ambitious and very self proclaimed, it presented an obvious objective for Rafe and I on our annual Scottish climbing pilgrimage. 

Making the most of moist day in Ratho Quarry

Ribs and pizza. The definition of a balanced diet

 Our trip began in the same way that most ambition is kindled in the Scottish climbing scene - in a central belt quarry in the rain. Thankfully the rain eventually got heavy enough as to quash any further  and we abandoned ship to head home and prepare for the drive to Skye. 

The main cliff of Flodigarry with Spanstastic being the obvious pillar bridging the gap. The bird nest-free alternative route of Lucy in the Sky is the crackline to the right

Rafe enjoying not having bird vomit on him on Lucy in the Sky

When we arrived the weather was cool, but dry and generally improving. With the mountains being shrouded in a thick misty blanket (so typical of the climate hereabouts) we opted to go for some sea cliff action on the north east end of island over at Flodigarry. The route we had in mind was the much photographed Spantstastic, an intriguing line up a large triangular cliff that includes its namesake pillar of rock than leans rather alarmingly across a very big sea cave. Unfortunately on the abseil down we noticed that the route was adorned with an assortment of sea bird nests, some of which were harboring eggs so we decided to change tactic (mainly to avoid getting covered in vomit...). The counter line on this part of the cliff which is equally popular is the superb finger crack climb of Lucy in the Sky, which was absolutely fantastic with solid jams and great gear all the way. 

With the remnants of low cloud and mist still clinging to the tops of the hills the next day we decided that sea cliffs would probably be another wise choice so headed west this time for a days climbing at Neist. Whilst some would consider climbing on anything other than the Cuillins a lesser day on Skye, in reality Neist has the highest concentration of high quality rock climbs of anywhere on the island and has several kilometers of crags providing many superb and absorbing routes. Our venue for the day was the financial sector on the upper tier as it looked like it would be sheltered from the worst of the wind. Thankfully good weather seemed to prevail for the day and we ticked a number of routes ranging from HVS to E1, the majority of which required quite a forceful approach (to say the least...). 

Rafe on Venture Capital. One of the best routes we did that day

Rafe following on Earthbound

Rafe on the crux of Insider Dealings

After a productive day at Neist we made a beeline for Glenbrittle. Whilst not an objective before the trip, much discussion had been had on whether we should make an attempt on a traverse of the Cuillin ridge on the drive up and in the days proceeding. Eventually the draw was too strong so we made a half baked plan to give it a go, which included driving the car half way to the finish and running back to the campsite late in the evening before. Organisation is not my strong point.  

The next day dawned bright and clear, and we made great progress up to the first Munro, Sgurr na Eag, where we left our bags and did a quick out and back to Garbh Beinn, the official start. After racing back to get the bags we eventually made it to a very dank TD gap, where Rafe did a great (if not a little comical) job of leading us up through the very greasy chimney crack. The next pitch of climbing on the Kings Chimney of SmC also went without incident, although it was made slightly harder by a big loose block that almost rocked out of the crack about half way up the pitch. One to watch.

The next few sections whizzed past in a blur of heat, mild dehydration (turning to proper dehydration!) before eventually we made it to the final obstacle, Naismith's Route up the Bastier Tooth. Whilst only a severe, its steepness makes it look quite formidable, particularly with tired arms and legs! Thankfully it wasn't too bad with good holds and gear all the way. After a final bit of scrambling we made it to the final summit, SnG and the end of the ridge. Since we were parked at the Fairy Pools, we had to reverse of tracks down the West Ridge and under Am Bastier until we could drop around the flank of BnF. All in all we managed to main traverse in around 12 hours, with the walk in and out amounting to another 5-6 hours so a pretty long day! 

Success! 

Rafe's special edition approach shoe / flip flop cross ridge traverse footwear

After a more chilled day on the Cioch the day after the ridge, the next and last day was spent at Rubha Hunish on the very northern tip of Skye. This striking mass of sea cliffs looks very unassuming from the south, but upon closer inspection provides probably some of the best climbing we did on Skye. We climbed Master of Morgana first which was loose to begin with, but gradually got more solid as height was gained. The top pitch provides spectacular climbing a series of hand cracks / off-widths before a tussle of a fish through a large and overhanging tapering crack. Brilliant. The last route we did was called Minch and Tatties and featured a terrifyingly hollow "banister rail" along which you had to climb up underneath then swing along to a belay. As with MoM, the top pitched provided much more solid rock, with some amazing hand jamming cracks which would rival in the best route inn a central belt quarry. 

The stunning cliffs of Rubha Hunish

Moving up underneath the banister rail roof crack on Minch and Tatties

All in all, another quality trip. Can't wait for next year.    

Finale

An unseasonable bout of cold meant a one last winter outing could be planned, and this time it would be across the boarder. The objective was the majestic Mitre Ridge, over in Beinn a' Bhuird's Garbh Choire, and is both big and remote, which is a guaranteed recipe for adventure in Scottish winter terms. 

After an overnight bivi in the cars we set out just before dawn from Invercauld, east of Braemar. The approach initially heads out past the large estate house on good roads before turning on dirt tracks as it winds up into Gleann an t-Slugain. For speed we opted to use bikes for this part of the approach, however what was a dusting of overnight snow at the car park quickly turned into 4 inches, then 6 inches of fresh snow, clogging brakes and reducing grip. Perhaps somewhat naively we assumed that the going would be better out of the top of the glen, so continued to push and carry (and at one point throw!) the bikes through drifts for another hour or so only to find that the usually cycle-friendly path to the base of the Cleirich stone was in fact very much impassable. With the daylight hours now ticking away and with only half the approach distance done, we abandoned the bikes and started break trail through knee deep snow. The going was initial tough, but as we passed the Cleirich stone and moved up into the coire below the Sneck, new snow turned to bullet hard neve and the going got a little easier. 

Conditions at the Sneck however were anything but. With a cold wind blasting overhead, finding shelter in this bleach beleach was close to impossible. By the time we'd changed clothes, arranged gear and doned crampons there was serious bouts of shivering and hot aches for both of us. Thankfully, as we avoided fresh drifts of snow in favor of some (arguably) safer 45 degree neve as descended into Garbh Choire, the wind dropped and the cloud base lifted just high enough for us to see the way.

The huge granite bastion of Mitre Ridge is a very impressive sight. Being nearly 300 m high, and projecting straight out of the side of the Choire it felt very intimidating, not helped by the top being obscured by darting clouds and the nagging thought that the nearest road was now 20 km away. Being compact, steep and almost entirely vegetation free on one side, it is a popular destination in summer and winter however on the dull and grey day we'd decided to visit it felt anything but. The namesake route of Mitre Ridge (V,6) climbs the prow of the buttress fairly directly, with a few detours around the really steep stuff towards the top. The lack of ice lower down meant we opted for the newer (and generally more popular) alternative chimney start on the west face. 

This first pitch was certainly a good introduction to what was to come, with a very steep and thin (but well protected) pull through the narrowing and almost overhanging chimney. After that it was Ben's lead up through another small chimney and a belay on the arete below the crux pitch. Rather reassuringly by this point, ice was more abundant, and the potential for a hard mixed grovel was diminished and a few tricky steps landed us at a belay just short of the Splintered Chimney (summer crux), which Ben lead up brilliantly. The rest of his pitch involved some quite tenuous mixed climbing up blind corners with a fair bit of ledge shuffling and was another great lead. 

The last few pitches passed in a blur of strengthening wind and approaching darkness and it wasn't long before we'd topped out and started making our way back to the Sneck. A quick sort of gear and we were on our way back to the bikes. Whilst the temperature had remained cold in Garbh Choire, the same could not be said for the glen below the Cleirich, and by early evening the snow had turned to mush adding to the fatigue already building in legs that had been going for 14 hours. Eventually we made it to the bikes, pushed them a bit through the sketchiest and steepest part of upper Gleann an t-Slugain, and then free wheeled back to the cars. We started at 5:30 and had finished by 21:00. A long, but satisfying day in one of the wildest corners of Scotland.  

Unfortunately I didn't take many photos, but have a few which I've shared below.  

Cycling through fresh snow in Gleann an t-Slugain

After abandoning the bikes the only alternative was to walk the remaining approach on foot, breaking trail through the fresh snow

Appraoching the intimidating Mitre Ridge (V,6) in Garbh Choire

Ben leading through on the second pitch, just before reaching the main prow of Mitre Ridge